


Resentment

by SourWolf



Series: Lessons Learned [9]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-17
Updated: 2012-04-17
Packaged: 2017-11-03 20:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/385564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SourWolf/pseuds/SourWolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek spends Christmas with Stiles and Allison and Scott may lose control of an innocent bet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Resentment

I woke to a sharp snapping sound and a faint stinging sensation on my chest. I opened my eyes to find Stiles standing over me with a towel in hand and the smile of a boy who knowing slapped a bull and thought he was safe from the horns. I growled loudly and got to my feet. He flinched back, holding the baby blue towel up like a matador’s cape to shield himself from me.

“Finally. I thought you’d never wake up. I got one of Dad’s BHPD shirts for you. Go shower so we can start on breakfast already. I want to get the French toast finished before he wakes up.” Stiles said, backing to the door and slipping out after gesturing for me to go into the bathroom.

Truthfully, I was happy to have a chance at a warm shower for the first time since I arrived from New York. I kept the shower as short as possible, yet still felt incredibly clean. I searched through Stiles’ medicine cabinet, stopping to curiously shake a half-empty bottle of Adderall. I considered hiding it or flushing the contents down the toilet, deciding against it only because it would increase the chances of killing someone. I found a bag of disposable razors and decided to take one.

Freshly showered and shaven, I emerged from the bathroom in the tan shirt emblazoned with the badge of the local police force. I rubbed at my cheeks, wondering how Stiles dealt with the plastic razors without the benefit of faster healing. I smelled so much like Stiles it was giving me a headache so I went downstairs to help cook to get the scent out of my nostrils.

Stiles was waiting, already the ingredients were out and organized meticulously. The teenager was holding an old cookbook, going through the ingredients list on the page and his layout one item at a time.

“I think I figured it out.” He said, his words slow as he tried his hardest to focus on what he was doing and not look over at me. “I think I left out the nutmeg last time.”

I walked to him and looked over his shoulder at the recipe, finally taking the book from him to get a better look. He let out a whine and flailed around at the fact that I broke his hard-earned concentration.

“The recipe’s no good.” I said, solving his conundrum simply as I closed the book and put it on the counter. He pouted at me before he stared at the book longingly.

“It was mom’s favorite.” He said softly, not taking his eyes off the book.

“Just because she liked it doesn’t mean that she liked every recipe.” I offered almost apologetically, picking the book back up and handing it to him. He took the book and held it to his chest for a moment before he put the book back in its place over the refrigerator.

“So what do you suggest, then? Since when do werewolves know how to make French toast? Shouldn’t you have a more traditional angry werewolf meal of Bambi and his mom or something?” Stiles questioned with a caviling grin.

“Maybe start with some annoying, talkative human?” My fangs flashed at Stiles and the teen slid down the refrigerator with a whimper.

“Alright. Alright. Geez. There IS such a thing as a sense of humor, you know.” He said as he tried to collect himself and reclaim some of his pride.

“Start the pans.” I ordered as I cracked a couple eggs into a bowl. He stared at me with wide eyes as I mixed the batter, his tongue peeked out of his mouth in a way that told me he was trying to memorize my every move. When I finished, I glared at him until he finally stopped starting at the bowl in my hands. He blinked a few times before he grinned and met my gaze, ignoring the death stare that I was giving him.

“That already smells awesome. Where did you learn to do that?” He questioned as I ground my teeth in a silent prayer for patience. The stove was still cold. He just stood there staring at me like a complete idiot.

“I had a family once.” I growled in warning that the subject was to be dropped immediately. He froze for a second, realizing as though for the first time the sensitivity of the question.

“Oh.” He answered softly, licking his lips and swallowing hard before he turned a burner on and put a frying pan over the flame. “So… should I not use butter, then?” He asked, chewing on his lower lip.

I hadn’t realized that the French toast meant that much to him until then. He really wanted to get it right for his father and was relying on me to give him a hand. After everything the boy had done for me, how could I refuse him?

When breakfast was done, the table was stacked with bacon, eggs, cut fruit, and a platter of French toast that Stiles seemed excited to offer his father. We were drying the washed pans as the sheriff came into the kitchen, eyeing the food curiously.

“It smells even better that it normally does on Christmas, son. Is that French toast?” He asked, looking up to catch Stiles’ smile.

“It sure is. Stop looking so worried! Derek helped this time. It’s not like last time, I swear!” He complained, throwing the towel over his shoulder and putting his hands on his hips indignantly.

The sheriff shrugged at his son and waved for us to come eat. After the first bite, their eyes raised to look at me, first the sheriff’s, next Stiles’. Stiles had a piece of French toast hanging out of his mouth as the older man cleared his throat.

“This tastes exactly like my wife’s.” He said slowly, his eyes trained on me and full of confusion.

“It’s how my mother taught me to make it.” I answered, trying not to meet the stares that seemed locked on me. Stiles’ eyes looked like they’d fall out of his head if they got any wider and the sheriff’s gaze took on a puzzling look of understanding. Finally I met his gaze and narrowed my eyes. “You knew her.” I said, the words sounding like an accusation.

As the sheriff’s gaze fell onto the table, Stiles stared between us with obvious amazement. The sheriff radiated a muted pain – something so ever-present in his life that it almost seemed to skip pain altogether in favor of a tiredness that he couldn’t seem to shake.

“Dad? Did you really know Derek’s mom?” Stiles questioned anxiously.

The sheriff let out a sigh, pushing away the plate that had almost been finished anyway. At length, he nodded and leaned back in his chair. His eyes stayed on the table, on the placemat that was same carmine color used by Beacon Hills’ athletics teams.

“Of course I did.” He answered, every word increasing the gravity around him and adding to the sag of his shoulders. Stiles was leaning so far over the table that I wasn’t sure if he would end up burying his face in the left over eggs or fall out of his seat and bite off the tongue that wet his lips in anticipation.

His father gave him a disapproving look that made him sit back an entire three inches and let out a soft sound from the base of his throat that brought to mind a puppy whimpering to finally receive the treat being waved in front of its face.

“She was your mom’s best friend, Stiles.” He said, and I didn’t question why he was speaking to his son. It had to be easier to say it to someone who shared the painful experience. It was always easier to have Laura around.

“So that’s why you were willing to adopt me?” I questioned, his eyebrows shot up. Apparently, he didn’t remember having told me that.

He nodded and sighed softly. “It just seemed right. Riley would have wanted to help you and your sister. She always talked about how she wished we’d met earlier so you two would have been closer in age, but your parents disappeared after they were married. They didn’t come back for years. Until your sister was born. Then they just started back up like she never left.”

My brow furrowed as I processed this information. So Stiles’ mother was the woman that came over so often. She and my mother would sit talk for hours while they worked on whatever excuse they had to be around each other. There was always lots of smiles and laughter in the house when she was around, like she radiated joy that embedded itself under the skin like a drug from which Stiles and his father were still suffering withdrawals.

“You wanted to adopt him? Why didn’t you? Things could have been so much better! Maybe all this stuff wouldn’t have ever happened. Jackson would have stayed away from me. Maybe Derek wouldn’t have ended up such a grumpy wolf with an ‘I hate everything I see’ stare that led us to think he was a homicidal maniac and he might actually have a sense of humor.” Stiles didn’t understand why his father just let us slip through his fingers like that. His hands were clenching around his silverware with a vicious, white-knuckled grip.

“We ran. We didn’t know about your father wanting to help us like that. We knew that Kate probably wouldn’t be happy stopping at the fire so we left.” I explained, and Stiles seemed to relax a little.

The sheriff gave me a thankful look, but Stiles’ constant stream of chatter was not so easily satisfied. “Well, why didn’t you just tell them on the way to the hotel? I totally offered a Star Wars marathon. I definitely remember that. We could have discussed it while Han Solo was imprisoned in carbonite.”

“You’re right, son. I should have done something more than I did. I could have stopped all of this from happening.” He said, almost seeming to sag even more.

I rolled my eyes and growled lowly. Both of them stared at me questioningly. “I don’t think adopting me would have stopped my uncle from losing his mind and murdering people. And it wouldn’t the way people treated you, Stiles. The only difference would be that your father would have had to kill my uncle because I would already be buried next to Laura.”

They both stared. Stiles’ father was appraising my words, trying to figure out if I was just being nice or if I believed my words. Stiles was indignant. He didn’t believe that things would have gone unchanged after last night with Jackson, but he didn’t realize that I wouldn’t always have been around to keep him safe from the people that tormented him. They would have found a way around me just like they did his father.

The sheriff seemed able to relax a little now, whatever burden this had added to his shoulders at least temporarily removed.  As Stiles questioned me about the movies that I had and had not seen for their annual Christmas movie marathon, we al worked to clean the kitchen. The sheriff and I simply let Stiles fill the house with his steadily flowing words. Where his complete inability to shut up for more than a breath would normally make me want to tear out his throat, today it was somehow pleasant. Maybe it was just the holiday and the fact that, were it not for my affair with Kate, I would be in a house full of family and friends. And now that everyone was older, maybe even Stiles and the sheriff.

Once the kitchen was cleaned, we all settled on the couch to watch movies. Apparently, my childhood was lacking because I’d never watched White Christmas or Miracle on 34th Street so Stiles had every intention of giving me a ‘proper Christmas experience.’ Once those movies ended, we ate a lunch that consisted of leftover breakfast while the sheriff began cooking the meat for dinner. Apparently, Melissa McCall would be responsible for the rest. Stiles dragged us all back into the living room to watch some more Christmas movies that I had missed in my clearly deprived childhood.

When the knock came on the door, Stiles jumped up to get it. I decided to follow just in case they needed an extra pair of hands. He opened the door, greeting Scott’s mother with masked disappointment when she was completely alone.

She hugged Stiles lightly, giving him an apologetic smile. “I know. When I let him go after lunch to see Allison, it was under the impression that he would be here for dinner. I sent him a text saying I was ashamed of him when I pulled into your driveway, but you know how well he listens to me.”

Her eyes fell on me and she put her hands on her hips with a sigh. “So, you’re the Derek Scott’s always talking about? He’s not a big fan of you, so I’m going to assume that makes you a good guy. Will you boys help me get everything out of the car?”

I was surprised that Scott would have mentioned me to his mother, but the low opinion came as little surprise. He was still upset that I took his perceived cure from him and he hadn’t given me much time to change his mine. Dinner passed quietly – much more quietly than should have been normal. Stiles tried to start on occasion but he fizzled out every time after a few sentences. He barely touched his food and when he pushed away from the table to go back into the living room to mope with Ralphie Parker, I followed. I sat close to him to leave room for the sheriff and Ms. McCall, pressing against him lightly to give him a quiet reassurance. The older pair followed gradually but didn’t seem interested in watching the same Christmas movies that they watched every year since this little tradition had been established.

In the middle of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which Stiles was relieved I’d seen because, as he said, it was a sign that I was at least partially human, he slumped against me. His head lolled onto my shoulder, his mouth hanging open ever so slightly. At least he was peaceful like this. He didn’t have to worry about a friend that was continually letting him down despite everything Stiles did for him.

The last thing I can remember is Scott’s mother smiling at me as she said goodbye. “Make sure to give Scott a good thump on the head for me when you see him, will you? I’m glad he has a cute little girlfriend now, but he should be better to Stiles than this.”

\-------------------------------------

I stopped outside of the door to Stiles’ house, biting my lip softly. I double-checked my appearance, wanting to make a perfect impression on the people that mattered most to my boyfriend. Even if he wasn’t exactly human and my parents were afraid of him because he could hurt me, I was certain that I loved him. I understood why he’d been hiding things from me after watching my father do his best to turn Scott into road kill.

It was something that I had no intention of letting him live down. I saw what my aunt had done to Derek and it made me sick to my stomach. No one deserved that, human or not. I loved her deeply. She would always be my Aunt Kate, but I would never forget the woman taking enjoyment in torturing a man who had no way to defend himself. I was sad to see Peter standing over that woman. She wasn’t the one that I cried for at the funeral.

Scott watched with that grin he always got when he looked at me. It always brought a smile to my face. The way he stared made me feel so wanted, so perfect. What girl could say no to the boy that still looked at her like that ever day even though her family had tried to kill him on multiple occasions? I blushed at Scott, looking at the welcome mat until I could make the goofy grin those adorable brown eyes always gave me finally calm down.

“Are you sure I look okay?” I asked nervously. His grin grew into a crooked smile and it made me want to go back to kissing him.

“Allison.” Scott said, taking my hands and squeezing them gently. “You look perfect. I don’t think you can look bad.” He said, kissing my hand softly. There goes that grin again. It was the hardest thing to fight around Scott. The only real solution I found so far was his lips.

He squeezed my hand before walking inside, pulling me along with him. The sheriff was on his way out, dressed in full uniform. He frowned at us and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Scott. I’m glad you could make it, even if you are five hours late. At least I don’t have to wake them up. Tell Stiles I had to run to the office but I’ll be back in the morning. Your mom went home to get to bed early.”

“Wait, what? Mom went home? Who is them, then?” Scott questioned, a confused look on his face.

The sheriff just nodded towards the living room that glowed and flickered with the television’s light. He turned his gaze to me and squeezed my shoulder. “Its nice to see you again. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer. Feel free to make yourself at home. Scott always does.”

“Thank you, Mister Stilinski. Have a good night.” I said with a smile, waving at him as he headed out the door. He returned the wave as he shut the door behind him, leaving us alone with this mysterious slumbering ‘they’ and the dull, changing light of the television screen.

Scott freed my hand and walked into the living room. I followed after and almost bumped into Scott as he came to a stop, growling softly. His eyes flashed that pretty amber and I immediately slid my arms around his waist. I could feel him relax and I smiled. I hadn’t had a chance to try to feel it for myself since he told me about Stiles stealing the heart monitor and how holding my hand had calmed him down when Coach Finstock was yelling at him in class.

My eyes found the cause of Scott’s tension. Derek’s large, dark form was face down sprawled over the couch. I looked around to find Stiles before it occurred to me that Derek had four feet on the couch. My mouth fell slack and I covered it with my hand. I pulled away from Scott and walked around to get a better look. Stiles was completely hidden by Derek’s body and I couldn’t help but grin at the image. It was cute in a weird way that made Scott look physically sick and angry at the same time.

“What is he doing? He’s going to end up strangling Stiles!” Scott said with a growl. I was stifling laughter as Scott moved to prod Derek in the shoulder.

Scott was met with a tired growl but he persisted, prodding at Derek again. “Scott, do it again and I’m taking off your hand.” He said, his voice a low rumble from a mixture of tiredness and irritation.

“Is Stiles still breathing under there?” Scott demanded, poking at Derek’s head.

Derek swatted Scott’s hand away, obviously not wanting to pull himself away from the position he and Stiles were in. “Who are you talking about? I’m alone, you idiot.”

“Stiles is underneath you, jerk. Get off of him before you crush him.” Scott growled, again poking at Derek’s head.

“Its quiet. Its never quiet when he’s around.” Derek corrected and I again found myself giggling into my hand.

“Get off of him!” Scott yelled, pushing Derek again.

I must have missed something that they heard because they both froze momentarily. Scott let out a sigh of relief while Derek stared down into the warm bundle tucked safely underneath his solid body.

Slowly, Derek started to unfurl himself from around Stiles, only to find Stiles clinging to the fabric of his shirt. Stiles let out a cute little whine and tried to tug Derek’s warmth back down to him. “Five more minutes.” He complained, and the older werewolf seemed to shrug and slide back into place.

I thought Scott was going to explode so I went to him and leaned against his side. “Stiles? You alive in there?” I asked softly, deciding to take a stab at waking him up so Scott would calm down.

My less familiar voice must have worked, because Derek let out a complaining grunt as he got up and sat on the edge of the couch, letting Stiles have the rest to sit up and rub at his eyes. It didn’t seem to make much different how much room Derek gave Stiles. He ended up leaning against Derek for support as he yawned and shook off the remnants of his sleep. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost say that Derek leaned into Stiles as he looked over his shoulder at Scott’s best friend. It seemed so friendly, so simple that it made me look at Scott curiously. I wondered why he and Stiles didn’t seem so comfortable with each other.

Scott looked angry. His jaw was tense as he watched Stiles and Derek sit together. Neither bothered looking at Scott, and I got the feeling that it was intentional from Stiles.

“What the crap was that? What is he even doing here?” Scott demanded, glaring at Stiles like he’d just committed the worst crime imaginable.

Derek got to his feet, his intense glare throwing daggers into my boyfriend. Stiles slumped back against the couch, his eyes following Derek with confusion. Derek gritted his teeth as though he was swallowing the words that rose to his mouth. Instead, his hand whipped out and he punched Scott in the shoulder. Scott hissed in pain, rubbing his shoulder and trying to work out Derek’s damage.

“Your mother told me to give you that for being a complete asshole.” Derek spat before shoving past Scott and disappearing into the kitchen.

“Stiles, what is that douche talking about?” Scott asked, glaring over his shoulder.

“Gee, I don’t know, Scott, but it’s a crappy day when a pissy, alpha freaking werewolf is a better friend than the jackass I’ve been friends with my entire life.” Stiles said, standing up and stretching. “And you woke me up from an awesome nap, so… I hate you right now.” He said, the expression he was giving Stiles saying volumes about what a horrible person he thought his friend was in that moment.

“You were squished under Derek! I had to make sure he wasn’t trying to strangle you or something.” Scott replied, confusion and helplessness on his face.

“Yeah. Like Derek freaking Hale would need to put any effort in if he wanted to kill me. Again. Better friend than you. Hey, Allison. How’s your Scott-filled Christmas been?” Stiles asked me, giving me a brief hug and punching Scott in the same spot as Derek before he disappeared into the kitchen. His words were bitter and I knew he was upset that he’d been abandoned so easily even on a holiday that they spend together for years.

I kissed Scott’s cheek reassuringly and he offered me a smile, leaning in to steal a kiss. I smiled in return and we walked together into the kitchen. Stiles was pushing Derek away from the turkey carcass, trying to get in to get some more meat before the bigger man could finish it off. Derek growled and kept eating, but Stiles started stealing pieces with a victorious smile on his lips.

“Dude. Go eat some veggies. I’ve heard you can’t give death glares if you don’t eat enough greens. Just because you’re a big bad wolf doesn’t mean you get all my turkey.” Stiles ordered, biting a piece of turkey right out of the alpha wolf’s hand.

Derek rolled his eyes, pushing the rest of that piece of turkey into the smaller boy’s face before he moved to munch on the green been casserole. Scott went and joined his friend, working to decimate the remaining meat. I understood Scott and Derek. They were werewolves. For whatever reason, that meant that they had really fast metabolisms. But what about Stiles? I watched the only human besides myself, amazed at his ability to keep up with Scott and Derek so easily. Was it the ADHD?

Scott was the first to stop since we ate a big dinner before we came. I think Derek got bored because after a while, he just wandered out of the kitchen casually like he needed to get away from Stiles’ and Scott’s banter.

“So, you going to tell me why he’s here?” Scott asked, sitting next to Stiles at the dining room table.  He didn’t seem to care that Derek could probably still hear him as long as he wasn’t going to get punched again.

“Well, I invited him. But he ended up spending the night. Not that it matters to you.” Stiles said, glaring at his friend once again.

“Alright, I get it. I should have at least told you I would be late.” Scott said in exasperation. “Why did he spend the night?”

Stiles gave Scott his best ‘you’re a complete moron’ face and shook his head. “You know what? That doesn’t even matter. You got here. Even though you woke me up from an awesome sleep and you were like five hours late without even telling me, it’s just whatever. Jackson was being a dick. He and Danny and I think Greenberg were sneaking around the yard. Greenberg was wearing red light goggles and I thought it was a werewolf or something. Since you wouldn’t answer your phone, I called him. He punched the crap out of Greenberg and then I got to give Jackson a good ass-kicking.” He explained with a winning smile.

Scott frowned and shook his head. “He’s going to get another one when I see him next.” Scott growled, balling his hands into fists.

“Its no good now.” Derek said from the doorway. The whole room turned their attention to him. His eyes slowly scanned the room, lingering on each pair of eyes in the room for a few seconds before settling on Scott. “If you wanted to help, you should have been there for Stiles when you had the chance.”

“I was asleep. Its not like I was ignoring him.” Scott defended himself and I took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

Stiles bit his lip, and I knew Derek picked up on it because he pushed with a calm confidence to settle the problem. Scott was glaring at Derek the entire time and didn’t seem to pick up on the silent interaction.

“I’m willing to bet you would have answered if Allison called.” Derek said, the calmness in his voice making Scott even angrier. He squeezed my hand and tensed his jaw. Stiles looked relieved that he wasn’t the one that had to say it. He looked down at the floor briefly before he stared up at Derek thankfully. I was blushing and rested my head against Scott’s shoulder to hide it. The gesture comforted him a little, but I felt bad that I was at the root of this trouble.

“Guys.” I piped up, chewing on my lip. Derek’s stare slid down Scott’s face to look at me. My eyes met his and I realized that it wasn’t really my place to be speaking up, but I did anyway. I planned on staying with Scott for a while, so they would just have to get used to having me around. “No Christmas movies?” I asked, backing down a little under Derek’s steady, dominant gaze.

His eyes flicked to Stiles, gauging his reaction before moving again. Stiles brightened up and smiled at me. “Its about time someone has a little sense around here. Derek’s been suffering through them for my sake, but it’s been lonely not having someone to enjoy the greatness of these movies.”

Derek growled and Stiles grinned at him, poking him in the arm. He thought the growl was about the comment about him being lonely, but I was pretty sure it was meant for Stiles so willingly pushing aside the problem like it never existed.

Just the same, we all moved into the living room and took a place on the couch. Derek took one arm and I took the other. Scott sat at my side and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I smiled and leaned into him as Stiles put in A Christmas Carol. He took the remaining spot on the couch, squeezed between Derek and Scott but no one seemed to mind it. I think Derek secretly missed having people around. He seemed almost peaceful with the little pack he formed all together on the couch. It only seemed natural that Stiles should be an integral part of that pack even if he was a human.

It wasn’t long until Stiles had once more fallen asleep against Derek with Scott almost looking jealous at the whole thing. I guess it was a custom that they would eventually fall asleep against each other. It wouldn’t surprise me, but he turned to give me a smile when I settled against him and put my head on his shoulder. He kissed into my hair softly, and I knew he was breathing in my scent. I always wondered what I must smell like to him after I got the ‘this is why werewolves are dangerous and why we hate your boyfriend’ speech from my parents. I looked over at the sound of rustling as Stiles pressed closer to Derek, curling into a ball like he was cold.

Derek wrapped an arm around him slowly. It looked a little awkward from Derek, but I could only guess it would be after spending almost a decade completely isolated from people in fear that one of them could somehow be like Aunt Kate. I felt sorry that he had to go through that. While Scott didn’t want to see it, I was pretty sure that Derek was a pretty amazing guy that always seemed to be getting the worst end of the deal. A lot like Stiles when I thought about it from that angle.

I almost didn’t notice that I’d been staring at him thoughtfully. Scott’s eyes were on him as well until the little bout of envy passed and he looked at the movie again. Stiles seemed to relax a little more at the added warmth, and I turned away as Derek’s sharp gaze was turned on me. “He didn’t get much sleep last night.” Derek said for Stiles, and I noticed that his fingers were drawing patterns against the human boy’s shoulder blades.

Derek was next to fall asleep. Given that Derek knew Stiles didn’t get a lot of sleep, I assumed he didn’t either. When Scott finally started drifting off, I got up and pulled him to his feet.

“What time is it?” Derek asked tiredly, woken by all the rustling.

“Around eleven thirty. I need to get home.” I answered, leaning down and giving him a kiss on the cheek. I smiled at the curious look he gave me before kissing the top of Stiles’ head softly. “We’ll see you guys soon.” I said, waving at Derek as I pulled my tired boyfriend towards the door.

“Yeah… Bye Derek. You better at least make sure he’s comfortable when you leave.” Scott said with a yawn.

In the car, I could see Derek gathering Stiles into his arms and carrying Stiles to the staircase. He stopped for a second and glared at me through the window before taking Stiles up to his room.

I wondered for a bit if Derek was planning on leaving Stiles alone again after last night. He seemed like the type that would try to keep everyone as safe as possible. Like Scott. I knew they’d get along if Scott would ever let go of the alpha thing and start accepting Derek.

“So. They looked cute together.” I said once I was pretty sure Derek wouldn’t be able to hear us.

Scott stared at me with confusion. I grinned at him and rubbed his arm softly. “Derek and Stiles. I think they look cute together.”

Scott looked like he was about to be sick and shook his head. “Did you hit your head?” He asked, touching my cheek like he was testing for a temperature.

“Scott!” I slapped his hand away with a laugh and shook my head. “No. I mean, you have to admit, they were pretty cozy together.”

“Stiles was tired. He’d cuddle up to a warm stove if he’s tired.” Scott replied, wrinkling his nose at the thought I was putting into his head. “Stiles and Derek freaking Hale is never going to happen. Stiles could do way better. Besides, he’s a guy. Stiles isn’t even gay.”

“Maybe. I mean, Derek comes to his rescue thinking there’s an alpha around-”

“Because it means it’s in his territory.” Scott interrupted, stating the obvious and innocuous possibility that didn’t involve his best friend and the tall, somewhat creepy, and very masculine werewolf becoming a thing.

“Or because Stiles has a place in his pack and he wants to keep you guys safe.” I continue, “Derek spends the night, meets the parent for Christmas, meets basically his second mother too, watch a few movies together, cuddle up on the couch and nap until we get there. Then they argue with you for being so hard for Stiles to reach, Derek taking Stiles’ side and arguing for him.”

Scott’s olive-colored skin was a few shades lighter than normal. “Yeah, but-“ he faltered, and I took the chance to continue.

“By the way, did you notice that Stiles has Derek’s number? The Derek that smashed your phone because it was dangerous and that seemingly never even had a phone until suddenly Stiles is able to call him for help? Then they curl up together again on the couch with us there. Sounds like a thing to me.”

“Allison.” Scott said, still pale as he stared at me curiously. “You’re seriously sick in the head. If I wasn’t already in love with you, I’d be questioning things.”

I grinned and gave Scott a playful slap on the head. “But you do love me. So now you get to listen to my sick thoughts.” I said with a grin, leaning over and kissing him after coming to a stop in front of his house.

“You’re still forgetting that Stiles isn’t gay. He has a crush on Lydia that could almost rival how I feel about you. And I’m pretty sure Derek and your Aunt Kate had something going on too.” He pointed out, denying the possibility outright.

I grinned, accepting the challenge. “Fine. We’ll make a bet. If I’m right, you have to set up the most romantic and extravagant date anyone has ever experienced. I mean something that would make Lydia jealous.”

Scott eyed me, looking pretty confident about the bet. “What do I get if I win?” He questioned curiously.

I grinned, leaning over and sucking on Scott’s earlobe softly before I rested my forehead against Scott’s. I bit my lip as I slid a hand over Scott’s thigh. I grinned at the helpless looked he gave me. “I think we could work something out.” I suggested in what I hoped came off as a sensual tone, kissing Scott again.

It seemed to work well enough because he nodded. “Fine. You’re on. But I’m going to win.” He said with a grin, stealing another kiss from me before he got out of the car. “Call me when you get home.”

“I will. I love you.” I said, smiling as I waved at him.

He climbed back into the car and kissed me again. “I love you too.” He whispered with a smile before he got out and closed the door, waving at me. He watched me drive away before heading inside.

A few days later, Scott and I were grocery shopping when Jackson showed up, the skin around his eye still yellowed from where Stiles had hit him. “I want in.”

I stared at Jackson for a few seconds before I looked at Scott. “I ran into Danny the other day and we ended up talking about Derek and we got on the subject of our bet. He said he wouldn’t say anything to anyone. I’d be mad at him if I thought of Jackson as a person.” Scott said, looking guilty for letting our bet get out.

Jackson glared at Scott briefly before his eyes turned to me. “I want in. Danny said there was a pool. I want fifty on them being a couple.” Jackson said and again I looked at Scott curiously.

“Well, Danny said he’d bet forty that it wouldn’t happen, but he was on my side, so I didn’t think anything of it.” Scott said, rolling his eyes.

Lydia walked up to us and leaned against Jackson. “This is a toughie. They are compatible, but they’re both pretty broken.”

Stiles appeared out of nowhere, squeezing in between Scott and me and wrapping an arm around both of us with a smile on his face. Maybe it was wrong of me, but I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if he’d just been with Derek. I guessed that Jackson and Lydia were both having similar thoughts because they both had mischievous grins on their faces.

“What’s broken? Jackson can’t throw his money at it to make it get fixed?” He asked curiously, grinning at the glare that Jackson gave him. It was obvious that Jackson was refraining from retaliating physically. Apparently Derek had made his stance on attempting to hurt Stiles very clear when Jackson received that black eye. It made me grin, even more confident that I’d be winning that date in the hopefully not-so-distant future.

Lydia smiled at Stiles and straightened his shirt by sliding her hands over his stomach. “You look so good today, Stiles. I would almost think that I dressed you.” She said, working her flattery against the boy that had loved her for years from afar skillfully.

He succumbed quickly, a bashful blush running up his neck. He babbled and stumbled over his words before settling on a simple “Thanks.”

“So, has Derek been getting you to work out more? I swear your arms look more amazing.” She cooed, feeling Stiles’ slender arm muscles. I covered the smile on my lips by looking over at a jealous Jackson and offering him the smile instead. Lydia really was a genius. Jackson was too busy being envious and Scott was too amazed by the possibility of Derek actually having the patience to help Stiles out to see that she was really just milking him for any information.

Stiles fell for it every step of the way. How could he not? Even if his interest was starting to be pulled in a different direction, Lydia was still the girl whose attention he wanted for years. “Not really. No. Derek’s been going through the stuff that survived the fire. Sometimes he even lets me help. So I have been carrying a lot of stuff, I guess.” He said, grinning at the girl with the strawberry blonde hair.

“You two sure have been together a lot. I feel like I never see you anymore.” Lydia cooed, knowing she already had Stiles hanging on every word. It didn’t matter that she barely saw Stiles anyway.

Stiles shrugged, his bashfulness mixing with something else that was hard to place. “Well, you’ve been off being gorgeous and Scott and Allison have been busy with their whole dynamic duo thing.” Stiles said with a shrug, and I realized that the emotion was a quiet resentment that was slowly building. Stiles had been lonely. “And Derek doesn’t have anyone either, so it works.” He finished with a shrug.

Scott frowned, turning to Stiles. “You aren’t alone like he is. You know I’m here. So’s your dad.” He insisted.

Lydia didn’t like that the conversation was leading away from where she wanted it to go so she butted in with a warm smile. “Well, you’re both coming to Jackson’s party, right?” She said, throwing a look at Scott that told him what she had to say was far more important than some weak argument about how he wasn’t neglecting his best friend. Scott closed his mouth with a groan and Lydia tugged on Stiles’ shirt to get his attention again, her raised eyebrows demanding an answer.

“I wasn’t really planning on it. Standing around by myself watching Scott and Allison make out or you boss Jackson around, as awesome as that sounds, just doesn’t seem like fun. The last party I went to I just talked to that one girl in our class who looked happy to see me go when I had to make sure Derek didn’t kill Allison.” Stiles answered, and I could tell ego deflating at the memories even though he shrugged it off with a smile like it was nothing.

“That’s exactly why you should bring Derek.” Lydia said with a smile.

“What’s Derek going to want with a bunch of dumb kids? He doesn’t even want me around.” Stiles replied dryly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Lydia giggled and shook her head. “He spent Christmas with you. And I’m willing to guess just about every day since. If he didn’t want you around, he could make you leave.” She said flatly, beginning to act like she was bored as she checked to make sure her painted nails hadn’t chipped. “Anyway. He wants to come and so do you. You can tell him I said so if you want.”


End file.
